The Case of A Dreaming Lady
by HextheDaydreamer
Summary: A lady is given certain duties to perform and she must not deviate from her chosen path. She has no say in her life, and she must not complain. The lady should be docile and obedient, quiet and reserved, and possess a clear mind. Regina Picket does not wish this life for herself. She wishes for freedom. However, such freedom is only obtained through a soul stealing kiss.


**The Case of A Dreaming Lady**

Regina Picket never told a lie. She was a proper lady who obeyed her parents and sat up straight, ate very little, and always was sure to wear her corset and stockings when she went out into town. Regina Picket never strayed into dark alleys or followed those roguish boys with their dark curls and cunning eyes. She wouldn't be like the silly maids her mother hired and go behind buildings to explore multiple suitors; she would abstain until the day her betrothed and her were married in the Church. Regain Picket was nothing short of a perfectly naïve little lamb who was didn't even need to be led to her eventual slaughter, she followed the rules and made her parents happy. And yet, despite all this, Regina was not happy. She did not like to sit up straight nor did she want to stand still and allow her maid to lace her up in the morning, she wanted to try so many different foods but with her stomach forced up into her ribcage but this was impossible. Regina wished she could run with barefoot across golden fields and green hills that rose into the air only to curve down like a slide. She certainly did not want her stuffy fiancé, an older man with long brown hair and narrow eyes that (she assumed) would never show her any love. Her sister, Amelia, was away in India and from the letters Regina received, the girl was in absolute ecstasy. Freed from the chains of duty after eloping with her childhood sweetheart, Amelia roamed Europe completely unaware of the gruelling fate that awaited her younger sister.

But Regina wasn't angry at Amelia, she was actually overjoyed. Amelia was the adventurous on, the spunky, overconfident young woman that Regina always wished she could be. Amelia debated every decision that was made for her, she broke the rules, and she went missing for days while riding out into the countryside. It was Amelia who found a litter of cats and secretly cared for them, Amelia had fights with the nobles' sons and by thunder, and she won them all! Amelia was a tall girl with long red hair and a bunch of freckles spread out across her face, her wily green eyes were constantly on fire with some mischievous light. She could sing and dance and write poetry for her mother before joining their father in stables to go horseback riding or learning how to fence. It was their father's fault, said Regina's mother, that Amelia was so headstrong and wild, he encouraged her too much. Regina of course nodded her head and made a quiet agreement of "yes, I suppose" before staring out the window as her sister rode off into the distance. Their father wished for a boy to carry on the family name but was granted two girls and a squalling babe that hadn't learned to talk yet. The doctors said that the boy would not live to see his seventh birthday and he was always so dreadfully sick. Regina was sad for her baby brother – Lionel is his name – because that meant it was up to her to manage their home if something should go awry.

How she hated to think like that. Her fiancé, Gregory Finch, was nothing short of a snivelling know-it-all with no class and no inherent kindness. His parents, the Lady and Lord Finch, were generous and warm while Gregory was a hunk of ice, no, a rock. So Regina made it her duty to make sure nothing befell any of her parents so that Gregory could stay as far away from her as humanly possible. The Picket estate wasn't anything too fancy but it had it charms and secrets, fairy tales were woven into the ancient tapestries that her father brought over from Ireland – their mother's homeland – and there wasn't a day when Regina wished she could simply disappear and fade into the stories themselves. Regina wanted to be one of those rebellious princesses who could do whatever she wanted; perhaps she could own a dragon to scare off unwanted company. Regina smiled a little; she wondered how Gregory would react to a dragon breathing in his face or a knight clad in white armour wielding a mighty sword. Regina liked to imagine this knight as an older brother figure and he would be handsome and strong. She didn't dream up his appearance, she didn't really care.

With another smile, she rose from her seat in the garden and moved inside to the piano. It was big, black, and smooth like polished glass, it possessed no mouth to speak but Regina could make it sing for her with the touch of her fingers. Her parents were discussing something in the living room and Regina was vaguely aware that it had something to do with her, most likely about her up and coming outing with Gregory. As her dainty fingers slid across the keys, composing a melody she had been playing over in her head for the past hour, Regina closed her eyes and started to rock back and forth. Her left hand pressed into the darker notes, her right fingers occasionally drumming the lighter and happier notes. Regina pictured a princess entirely made of porcelain, she danced alone in a tall, dark tower and every step she took created a small dark being. Each high note created small dark bats and scaly creatures that climbed down the tower walls and vanished in piles of purple smoke because without the princess's presence, they died. It sounded sad, Regina knew, but she liked it that way. The princess now had to keep on dancing in order to keep her new friends alive, she didn't know they died as soon as they left her.

"Such a melancholy sound." Regina stopped playing, jerking to one side and staring at a small boy standing amidst the white roses in the garden.

"W-who are you?"

"Does it really matter? Play something happier." Regina, out of habit, diligently obeyed and bounced the tips of her fingertips over ebony and ivory. The boy walked into the room and giggled softly, Regina wondered if her brother would ever sound like that. He sat down beside her and Regina stared at him from the corner of her eyes. He was quite short with dark blue hair and blue eyes; one was covered by a black eye patch. He was dressed in royal blue and black along with tall shoes to give him the extra height he certainly needed. She leaned back to stare into the living room to watch her father stalk to one side of room and get angry at someone; her mother was laying on the sofa, wild red curls falling over her face. Regina couldn't hear what her father was saying or know who he was talking to but she now could hear her brother wailing in the room as well. Straightening herself and shaking her head, Regina continued playing for the boy as he nodded, pleased by the cheery voice of the piano.

"Are my parents expecting you and your family?"

"My parents are dead." Regina stuttered on the piano and blushed, quickly apologizing and slowing the music down again. A flicker of black danced outside and a vase of the white roses were suddenly placed on the piano. Regina looked up and found a pair of bright red eyes gazing into her own hazel ones. The boy chuckled and Regina turned back to the keyboard with another blush.

"And who are you?" she asked angrily, surprised at her harsh tone as the older gentleman smiled at her.

"He is my butler, his name is not important." Regina stopped playing altogether and glared at the boy and his black butler.

"I do not know how _you_ were raised, sir, but here names are important. Now introduce yourselves properly or I will have you thrown out." The boy turned to give his butler a smirk and something unspoken was conveyed between them, an "I told you so" kind of look. Regina got up from her seat and looked into the living area where her parents were now sitting down, she wanted to tell them about the visitors but the boy's fingers wrapped around her wrist and led her outside. They moved away from the window, away from the gardeners as they created horses and eagles in the shrubbery. The three of them sat under the large willow tree, the butler brought out a tray of pie and politely asked if Regina wished to have any. She knew she ought to say no but she saw raspberries between the pastry layers and couldn't refuse the growling in her stomach. As the pie stuck to the inside of her mouth and crumbs fell on her dress, the boy and his butler watched her calmly. Regina put her plate down and looked off to the side, upset with herself for getting angry at the strangers and upset at the strangers for making her so upset in the first place. The boy, perhaps sensing Regina's silent albeit angry command for a name, smiled apologetically.

"My name is Ciel and this is Sebastian."

"No last names?" Ciel laughed and Regina rolled her eyes at him.

"And what is your name, milady?" Sebastian asked curiously, Regina felt a little uneasy as he stared at her.

"Regina."

"No last name?" Ciel queried and Regina punched his arm. A breeze drew the leaves from the ground and tossed them into the air, Regina suddenly felt very sleepy and she leaned against the trunk of the willow tree, sighing softly and looking down at her hand that was suddenly in Ciel's.

"Do you have a wish, Regina?" her head swam with emotions and memories, she started falling to one side but Sebastian caught her and tucked her into his arm as if she was a small child.

"I wish my name was different, first off. Regina sounds so…proper." Sebastian chuckled in her ear and slipped his fingers between her hair, it was more of an orange colour than red. Ciel smoothed out her light blue dress and pulled off the white gloves covering her hands. Regina sighed as Ciel stroked her hands with his baby soft fingers. Would Gregory be upset by this? Would he be jealous of the little cherub perched on her lap or the raven-haired man whose voice gently stirred her subconscious and brought up feelings she was unfamiliar with. She hoped he would get mad and show some semblance of humanness.

"Then we shall name you Catherine, my dear." Sebastian said, kissing the top of her head in an affectionate manner as Ciel rubbed one of his fingers along her lips.

"That sounds wonderful." The newly christened Catherine said dreamily. "Still want to hear my other wish?" Ciel nodded with a smile, reaching back to pull on the strings of his eye patch, Catherine was delighted to find that he had that eye but it looked rather odd. Sebastian wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder as Ciel cocked his head to one side expectantly.

"I wish that I was…free. Can you make that happen, Ciel?"

"I can." He leaned forward. "But I want something in return."

"Name it, love." Catherine reached out and put her hand against Ciel's cheek.

"Your soul." The girl giggled, saying that the boy was being absurd, but he put his lips on hers and Catherine found herself leaning further back into Sebastian's chest. Oh, the trouble she would be in when her parents found out. Catherine could just picture the look on her father's face, going red with rage as her mother sighed and fainted. What kind of punishment would she receive for being so unfaithful? Ciel's small hands reached behind her to clasp the back of her neck and hold her side. Sebastian was still hugging her too but he accommodated his master's intruding embrace. She doubted Sebastian was truly a butler because of how Ciel allowed him to interact with her, master and servant both holding the same thing with equal power. Indeed, she felt they were somehow similar in strength and stature; there was some form of companionship between them. She wanted to be involved with this secret relationship, how many rules can she break today? But inside her body were two conflicting emotions, the deep love coursing through her veins and the deepening fear that she needed to get away. There was great warning coming from her supressed instincts but Catherine couldn't wrap her head around it, it eluded her, almost teasing her with knowledge she ought to possess. It was incredibly infuriating, just like the way Ciel's tongue danced around her mouth. Then it happened. Catherine opened her eyes from within the kiss to see Ciel's eyes a dangerous shade of magenta, a white smoke was passing from him to her…or was it from her to him?

Catherine didn't realize she was struggling until she felt Sebastian's cool hands tightening around her wrists, his mouth was at her ear and telling her to calm down or "be still", some other flowery words to numb her mind. But it didn't hurt. Catherine just barely felt his hands on her; it was like she was a ghost trying desperately to materialize. But that was fine with her. No one was around to tell her to sit up straight or eat less, her mother wasn't badgering her about her appearance, and her father wasn't giving her disapproving looks. Catherine pictured Amelia smiling, proud that her shy little sister was acting out. She was free from Gregory's stony visage...She was free. Ciel had granted her wish after all. Now all she had to do was –

**End**


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